15 Days In Jail For OC Man Guilty Of Stealing $215K From Employees

WESTMINSTER, CA — The owner of Westminster-based Tri-County Sandblasting pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing from his workers and was immediately sentenced to 15 days in jail and placed on one year of informal probation.

Pavel Osokin was accused of stealing about $215,000, according to Deputy District Attorney Donde McCament. He failed to pay full benefits to his workers by "misclassifying projects," McCament said when charges were filed in December 2019.

Osokin pleaded guilty to grand theft, making a fraudulent statement to obtain or deny compensation and intent to evade taxes, all misdemeanors, according to court records.

As part of the plea deal, four counts of grand theft, receipt of portion of wages of a workman and failure to collect, account for or pay taxes, all felonies, were dismissed along with sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime between $100,000 to $500,000.

The benefits alleged in the complaint included pension, medical and vacation.

Osokin paid cash to his workers to avoid payroll tax and withholdings for workers' compensation insurance, McCament said.